


The Runaway Kind

by revivesoda



Category: Call of Duty (Video Games), Call of Duty Zombies, Treyarch Zombies
Genre: M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-12
Updated: 2018-10-11
Packaged: 2019-01-16 08:25:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12339033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/revivesoda/pseuds/revivesoda
Summary: The boys are at a turning point in their lives. In the 1979 summer buffering between middle and high school, Edward's parents have recently died and left him doomed to live with family out of state. Coming of age, changing schools, and the dread of never getting to see each other again can force kids to make some big decisions.





	1. The Pact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is only the beginning, boys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I messed up the title and setup initially. This is not part of a series, but rather just one big multichapter fic. Also, I initially named this entire work "The Pact" which i think now is a pretty good name, but that's not the real name. The name of the entire fic is The Runaway Kind, as shown, and the chapters are named individually and those names are typically indicative of the chapter content. Hope you love it!

Tank sat in the dirt by his bike, thick silence surrounding him as he checked his watch. ‘Damn it. They should be here by now.’

The display on his watch counted the seconds almost lazily as the summer heat beat down on it. And, just as Tank decided to give up and lay down in the dirt, he heard the crunching of stone under wheels and the sound of his friends, heavy heaving breaths as they broke through the trees to the edge of the wooded cliff. 

 

“Sorry, sorry we took so long!” Eddie called out from the trees. 

“Takeo’s mom made really good snacks and Eddie ate too many!” Nikolai taunted and excused. 

“I wanted to be on time, sorry Tank.” Takeo finished the rambling calmly as they all dropped their bikes with a clatter.

Tank sat up, his back covered in clay. He oriented himself, gave his friends a big smile, and lead them closer to the cliff’s edge before he spoke.

“Guys. We have something to talk about but first we need to make a promise. Like, in blood. Me and Eddie already did it, we just all need to do it together.” He and Edward held out their left hands, a small cut across both of them. Nikolai shuddered. 

“That’s going to hurt, isn’t it? I’m not sure I’m interested.” Nikolai started to step away from his friends, but Tank stopped him.

“Listen, I know this is going to hurt and it fucking sucks but I need to know for sure that you guys are in this with us forever. That you won’t give up on us. It’s really serious, man.” Tank let go, so Nik could make a decision. 

Takeo stepped over and whispered with Nikolai for a minute, some laughs were had, then they both turned back to the group.

“If we’re going to do this, let’s do it.” Nikolai stated firmly, and Takeo nodded with him. 

Tank pulled out a knife and a length of string. He wound the string around his own hand and started to make a little cut.

“This is-ow-how we’re going to do this. We all get a little cut, get our blood on the string, then we’ll drop the string off the edge. That way we can never break that promise, and it’s safe.” he said, going to Nikolai first. 

He made a small cut on the boy’s hand, then pressed the wound string to the wound for a few moments. It all hurt like hell. Then, he went through the same with Takeo and Edward. 

“Now that we’re bonded, we have to be there for each other. Always. And that’s why we’re here. We all know things are bad for Eddie right now, but I’m not about to let anyone take him away. So, what I’m saying is, you guys have to help us run away.” Tank explained, walking to the edge of the cliff and holding the string out over it. A gust of wind pushed through and almost knocked him right off the edge. 

Edward’s parents died a few weeks ago, and now that the funeral was gone and things were settled, Eddie was supposed to be going to live with family a few states away. This was the last thing he needed. 

“We’re about to start high school and I want to stay with you all. I think we have to run away to stay together, and Tank and I have some money saved from summer jobs.” Eddie added, praying silently that his friends wouldn’t give up on him. 

Nikolai and Takeo took a minute, looked at each other, and then finally gave the verdict.

“We’re in.”

And the string dropped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is my first multichapter fic, ever! chapter 2 is already out and chapter 3 is on its way! i hope you guys love it!


	2. The Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once you step off the edge, there's no going back.

The string fell for what felt like ages, and Tank stared straight down until he lost sight of it. This was happening. There was no time for second-guessing or backing out. And he was terrified. 

As Tank stepped away from the edge, the other boys were already discussing running. 

“We’ll ride our bikes, of course.” Takeo stated, pulling a pencil out of his pocket and proceeding to play with it as he sat down in the grass and dirt.

“Tank and I were girl scouts, we could bring our supplies?” Nikolai suggested. He and Tank had both hated the girl scouts, mainly because of all the misgendering. They often wished they had been in the boy scouts instead.

“I don’t know yet. I think he has a plan, though. Do you, Tank?” Eddie didn’t seem interested in this conversation. In fact, he was only truly interested in knowing what to do so they could get the hell out of here.

“What? Of course I have a plan. Nikolai and I will bring basic supplies, I’ve got something like 15 dollars and if we use it for basics that’ll help us catch and make food, it’ll really last us! If anybody else has some money, we could definitely use it. We’re gonna need to be able to buy stuff and adjust, cause I’m sure we’ll be living in the woods or something. Like, cause people are going to look for us and we’ll need to hide.” He was excited about the subject all of a sudden, as if he had just come back to life from the draining activity that was bleeding and thinking about the possibilities of life itself. 

“Then, we’ll meet here tomorrow night and get out of town. Full bags, on bikes, maybe find a little cabin somewhere that we can stay in sometimes. I hope it works out like that.” Tank finished his explanation, and plopped down on the ground next to his bike. This was all hard work for him.

“Well, I have a few dollars. And I know my uncle had a cabin in the hills around here. I could show you guys, and we could stay there for a little while?” Nik offered, beginning to wander around the group. He couldn’t sit still when things got stressful. And this was more stressful than anything he had ever experienced. “Are you all sure this is a good idea? I’m just scared that we’ll get in big trouble or something.”

Takeo got back up, brushed the dirt off of his backside, and hugged Nikolai. Nik was the only person Takeo showed affection to besides his mother, and it was out of trust. “We’ll be fine. Kids do it all the time. Just stay calm.”

Nikolai gave him a small hug back before that ended, both of them somewhat embarrassed for doing that in front of their friends. Eddie and Tank, however, didn’t notice. In fact, Eddie was sitting down next to Tank now, quietly chatting with him about the possibilities of where they could go.

As these quiet moments ended, Tank looked around and the other boys before starting to speak. “Look, we should all go home. Eddie can come home with me, but everyone else? Have a good night with your parents and leave a note in your room tomorrow for them to find. So they know we’re running, not kidnapped. But, hide that note under your pillow or something so we have our head-start.”

Eddie leaned his head on Tank’s shoulder, tired from the ride up the hill to meet here, and sleepy from the calm, warm sun on his back. Nik and Takeo each nodded and grabbed their bikes.

“What time tomorrow?” Nikolai made sure to ask, so he wouldn’t be late. 

“Two in the afternoon. Eat a good lunch before you come, alright?See you guys then.” Tank dismissed them with that and, once the other boys were gone, wrapped his arms around Eddie.

“Hey, are you alright? We can just stay out here for a while if you want, you know.” he said, looking down at Eddie, his fluffy, unkempt hair. Bags under his eyes from not enough sleep and too many tears. Tank just wanted to help him. Nothing more, and nothing less. Well, maybe more, but definitely not less. 

They sat there for a few hours, and half an hour in Eddie was asleep with his head on Tank’s lap. Tank already knew Eddie was gay and people had been pushing him and his friends away because of it. But the more he thought, the more Tank knew he wasn’t just doing this all because he was friends with Eddie.

He was doing it because he loved him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter 3 is in the works! i especially loved this chapter and yes, if you were wondering, all four of the boys are trans.


	3. Action

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dysphoria is a bitch, running away is emotional, and the world is scary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry, this took FOREVER. I wrote it months ago but was never happy about it, and now I'm finally happy with it and I hope you guys love it! I hope to update again soon!

It was 1:30 when all the boys met up, 30 minutes early and hot as hell. They were all packed up, and each of them had brought a few changes of clothes, some extra food (which was mostly snack food), and their girl scouts’ gear. 

They didn’t have much to say to each other, and they clung together in pairs. Nikolai to Takeo and Eddie to Tank. They were all terrified of what was about to happen. 

“How far is it from the next town?” Takeo asked, trying to break the ice. 

Tank gave a long sigh. He had no idea. This was going to be a long, long day.

“Well, I thought we would try to go to my uncle’s cabin?” Nikolai said, looking at each of his friends individually. He’d been thinking of it since yesterday. He just wanted to go there, where it was familiar and where he could just leave and go home from once he got homesick. Not to the next town, or the next state, or however far they’d go. From places like that, he’d never make it back home.

He received three solemn nods, and the boys began to pull away from each other. Before they knew it, they were all on their bikes, then finding the road, and riding all behind Nikolai. 

It felt like forever before they stopped, and it was only because Tank pulled off the road first, jumping off his bike in motion and letting himself fall to the ground and begin to cry. This was all too much, and not only that but his dysphoria was extremely bad as well. His ponytail had broken about 30 minutes ago and he was dealing with the sensation of his shoulder-length hair flowing behind him, some of it sticking to the back of his neck. As he got up he dropped his backpack, and his friends yelled at each other to stop and they turned back,Takeo reaching him first.

“Fuck, FUCK, Tak, my knife- I need it I have to cut all this fucking hair off!” Tank cried, going through his pockets hastily before turning to his backpack and going to start digging through it too.

“It’s okay, you’re alright, I’ve got mine, I’ll do it. Come here, I’ll cut your hair.” Takeo reassured him, jumping off his own bike before he could go comfort his friend. Takeo had cut his own hair a month ago from dysphoria, and was still messy and uneven. 

Tank sat down, trying to calm himself, and full of the worst anxiety and dysphoria he’d ever had. Breathing deeply, he brought his knees to his chest and hugged his legs. Before long, Takeo knelt behind him and opened his knife with a soft click. Nikolai and Edward were soon to join them, Eddie quick to comfort Tank.

“Are you sure about this, Tank?” Takeo asked, taking some of the other boy’s hair in his hand.

Tank only nodded in response and Takeo began to cut his hair, cutting it only long enough to be brushed and somewhat styled. Hair covered Tank’s shirt and the ground around him. Then, Nikolai had an idea. 

“Look, we aren’t much further from my uncle’s camp. We just have to um… Go past the city limits and it’s out in the woods there. Then maybe me and Eddie can cut our hair too!” Nikolai encouraged, grabbing the end of his braid gently, and smiling as his friends nodded and got up from the ground. 

Eddie brushed the hair from Tank’s shoulders and back before they all got their things together and continued on their way.

Their legs were sore and they were exhausted by the time the reached the camp, a small wooden cabin with one bedroom, a small kitchen, and a living room. Nearby, a stream could be heard. The boys didn’t hesitate to drop their bikes outside, Nikolai pulling a key out of a small birdhouse near the door and using it to unlock the cabin. 

They dropped all their things by the door, Tank finding the bed and laying down immediately, and Eddie following close behind. Takeo helped Nikolai prepare some dinner consisting of canned sausages and canned beans from the kitchen pantry, and they shared a few looks before Nikolai spoke.

“Well… This is going pretty well. We made it very far today, but I don’t… I don’t want to go any further.”

“I don’t either.” Takeo responded, sighing deeply. “I want to be at home. My family never did anything.”

“Yes, I bet they never did this-” Nikolai said, grabbing a sausage from a can and starting to wiggle it around in front of his crotch. “This is my new dick, Takeo!! You can get one too! And then you can EAT IT!”

Takeo’s serious face fell into smirks and giggles, and he soon wielded his own sausage dick, using it to initiate a duel. Ah, yes. The fateful dick fight. And whoever came out on top, well, he would have to eat both dicks. 

In the bedroom, Tank snored softly, damp and sweaty clothes clinging to his skin. He was laying on his side, facing Eddie, who watched him sleep with half-lidded eyes and a gentle smile. This was the man of his dreams, with a new, horrible haircut, and more devotion than he could ever imagine, let alone ask for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good luck to all you readers who are going to be paying attention to the continued Primis storyline in Blood of the Dead!! It's gonna be hell and I'm in that hell with y'all.


End file.
